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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Jindabyne Weekend

DAY 1 - GOOD FRIDAY.....

Easter weekend we had a trip to Jindabyne - to the Sport & Rec facility there and WOW did we all have a great time! It was an action packed weekend and we just didn't stop - there were so many activities that you could do as much or as little as you pleased - but it was all so much fun that we didn't want to miss out on anything! And it was amazing that the kids (teenagers) didn't fight, or whinge or bicker - not once! ....which made the trip even more enjoyable. We haven't been away as a whole family like that, in what feels like forever.....so it made it even more special :) The weather was just perfect...a little cool at night, but just beautiful during the day....And every meal was just delicious....and so much of it! I don't think I've ever eaten as much as I did in a weekend....but with all the energy we were burning off...it was much needed!

Anyways...as I said, it was an action packed weekend....so I think I'm only going to blog one day at a time....otherwise there'll be photo overload if I do it all in one go (took something like 570 photos).......

This was the student lodge that we stayed in....and no, that whole building wasn't ours...there were about 4 rooms with 3 other families in there with us. The rooms were all VERY basic...but that was OK, we only used them for sleeping at night & showering etc.

Yep, Autumn is here....just look at the gorgeous colours in the trees...the whole area was full of sights like this...just beautiful

More beautiful trees...

Our first activity for the weekend was archery....we all had a heap of fun & had a bit of family competitiveness happening! And I must say, that "moi" came out the winner - all my arrows hit the target board...unlike others' who's arrows went sailing past the board....hahhaha

Dave full of focus & concentration

After we all had had a few shots, they hung these stuffed animals out on the targets....lol. Poor little Eeyore was hung on my target...and OMG I hit him first shot!!! lol....I couldn't believe that I hit the poor little fella!

Our next activity was called "Initiatives"....and involved team work & problem solving. Each part of the course had different rules & objectives...some were harder than others, but were all still alot of fun.

This one, the tyre was a life raft out in the ocean...where there just happened to be a rope hanging from the sky to help you get to the life raft....lol, and you had to get each team member out onto the raft without falling into the ocean....and each person had to stay on the tyre/life raft until the whole team was on board. Teams are usually 8-10 people...so balancing that many people out on the tyre is really not that easy...especially when they've got the giggles & lose their balance...lol

In this one...all the ropes that criss-crossed all over the place & around the outside - were electrified and so were the trees & rocks...so you had to get through the course without touching any of them. Then to challenge the team further....one person gets blindfolded & the rest of the team has to talk them through the course with instructions.....which was really hard, but funny...lol Poor Joel drew the shortstraw for this one...and we had him crawling & dragging himself all over the ground....and as you can see he ended up covered in dirt.

He then wanted his sister to be blindfolded....but fitting the blindfold was as far as she went....the piker! lol

This one you had to get each team member from one side of the roped net - to the other - but each hole/space could only be used once...and because we were such a small team, we weren't allowed to use the bottom hole or any of the larger ones....we ended up having to pass Joel through one of the holes in the center....would have been a funny sight, but unfortunately we couldn't get a photo.

After dinner....our night activity was indoor rock climbing....wowzer it was so much fun! A little scarey at first...but once you get going it was OK. Both Dave & Joel made it to the top of each run they attempted....where'as I only made it about 3/4 of the way. I found that as you got higher...the little things for grabbing hold of, just got smaller and it was so hard to hang on...and my arms would end up so tired and then I'd have to give up. I'm so glad that I gave this a go though...it was such a buzz!

So, that was the end of our first day at Jindabyne....and we were all totally buggered and looking forward to falling into bed....to rest our weary bodies to start more of the same the next day.....

DAY 2 - EASTER SATURDAY....

After yet another yummy breakfast (and not having to cook & clean up etc makes it even more yummier...lol), our morning activity for today is Canoeing on Lake Jindabyne!.....It was such gorgeous weather for it too!

Joel & I paired up in one canoe, and Dave & Kate in another...and of course we were competitive out there the whole time...lol. The last time I went canoeing would have been the last time I came to Jindabyne back in 1979 :-0 ....so we were lacking a bit of experience and it wasn't easy to just go in the direction you wanted to go...we eventually got there but we kinda zig zagged our way. I guess it's because we both don't have the same strenght & Joel is able to dig deeper etc into the water, so we'd tend to go off in the opposite direction to the side he was rowing on. All in all, it was a super fun morning....we then headed back to camp for lunch...and with all the energy we just burnt up, we were starving!

For the afternoon we had the choice of Mountain Biking or Green Machines! As you can see in the photos below, the Green Machines are so cool and look like they'd be a heap of fun! It was mostly the smaller kids who opted for the Green Machines (naturally!). We decided we'd do the Mountain Biking....but unfortunately for Kate & I we both ended up feeling sick - first it was me, I wasn't sure if it was the bouncing around after just eating a big full lunch or what it was, but I ended up finishing up early & heading back to camp because I just felt so bad. Kate told me later that she was feeling a little sick when I decided to finish up, but that it wasn't too bad so she decided to keep going...which she later regreted! The poor kid ended up literally being sick...and one of the instructors told her it's probably the altitude...something I would never have thought of, but makes total sense!

So here are some pics of both the very cool looking Green Machines & some of Mountain Biking.....

This gorgeous little boys' name was Patrick.....he was oh so shy, that we couldn't even look at him without him going all coy & wanting to get away...lol. He was just so darn cute!

Our late afternoon activity was the flying fox....Kate is a tad scared of heights so she didn't want to participate so I left her with my camera to get a few shots...but because she still wasn't feeling the best from the bike ride...there's not many decent photos of us actually on the flying fox...but we did get a few of us goofing around while waiting for our turn.....

OMG...this man has no shame!...lol - he's such a dexter!

Hahahhaa.....we look like the 3 stooges!

After dinner we went into Jindabyne to the Lake-Light Sculpture display....some of the work there was just amazing. Took oodles of photos (way too many to share), but I'll just add a couple of my fav's....

This robot was made up of a whole heap of electronic components....very cleverly done & looked fantastic

Not sure if this pic does this justice....this was a dress (some kind of old fashioned dress...maybe even a wedding dress), made out of corrugated iron! AMAZING!!!

And here is Ned Kelly....welding himself....lol

I thought this one was very clever!

So that's the end of our 2nd day ....and again we're all feeling totally buggered & looking forward to falling into bed for some much needed shut-eye!

DAY 3 - EASTER SUNDAY.........

Our morning activity today is PAINT BALLOONING! - kinda like Paint Balling without the guns - just hand thrown balloons filled with watered down paint! We spent the first hour or so making our ammunition - filling up the balloons with watered down paint…it was a bit tedious, but fun! Then we all headed out to the paint ballooning course & played various games that involved throwing our balloons at each other. While we were filling the balloons earlier, we thought we'd also fill up a squeezy type sauce bottle each….to have our own little battle once all the balloons were gone! Hahaha we had a ball…and all ended up with paint here there & everywhere... although Joel seemed to come out with the least on him - probably because he can run so fast!

A few pics of our paint ballooning - all before & after the fact - because no-one was game enough to take their camera along while all the action was going on.....

filling up the balloons

Dave seemed to come out the worst ...lol

For the afternoon we went out to the Gaden trout hatchery for a BBQ lunch & to just have a relaxing time….I recognised the place right away…it was the same trout hatchery that we used to go to on the Jindabyne camps back when I was a kid in the 70’s. After lunch we left everyone there and headed into town for a bit of shopping….and to fill in some time.

A few pics out at the trout farm....

The 2 pics above were taken out through the car windscreen on the way there

The picturesque river

Kids playing ball

Our night activity was a campfire & damper cookout….which was fun, and again reminded me of the times we did the same thing on the camps as a kid. We made our dampers on the end of a stick.…and once they’re cooked you pull the stick out and fill up the hole with honey! Yummo…it was delicious!

For breaky we had a super yummy hot cooked breakfast - plus there was the option of the usual continental stuff. We ate at least double the amount of what we'd normally eat for breakfast (and for all the meals for that matter)....why is it that when you're on holidays - you eat more?!?!? like, WAY MORE!

Our last activity for the camp was the high ropes course!

We all gave it a go, except Miss Kate - she is scared of heights and sat this one out.

If you wanted to complete the highest course, you first had to prove that you could adequately get around the lower course - so everyone had to start off on the lower one - which was still 4 meters off the ground! It was a little nerve wrecking when you first got up there, but we all managed to get around the whole course without falling off .

Both Joel & I ended up with a headache after doing the lower course - not sure if wearing the helmet caused it...or maybe being up so high & having to concentrate so much...who knows! But that put a stop to both of us having a go @ the highest course - plus a bit of being a chicken on my part...lol. Well, it is 10 meters off the ground...pretty scary stuff for an old chook! hahhaa

But Dave gave the high course a go...and did really well!

so, here are a few pics from our adventures on the high ropes course....

After such a buzz...of course we were all hungry again...and seeings it was lunch time - we had some lunch then headed into Jindabyne for Kate to have another little shopping fix (rolls eyes). We ended up leaving at about 1.30pm for the long drive home - arrived home around 6pm and then had the yukky job of unpacking the car & sorting washing etc. That's one of the downfalls of having time away....all the work involved when you get home....ughhhh!

So now that we're back home...things are pretty much back to normal - kids fighting, everyone back to work, everyone doing their own thing & leaving all the house chores etc to poor ol' Mum. I don't think things will ever change.....